AnnouRead on Tapas for ImagesChapter 46 - Demonic Lad

  At the sound of his name, he swiftly turned his attention to me, his eyes log onto my form. "We're not in Domino nor Elmir anymore, are we?" I inquired, l my body and grasping my ko gain a better vantage point through the window. He remained silent, his gaze unwavering as he observed me. "Cleal?" I called out once more, my expression and gaze remaining steadfast and unreadable. "You are aware of the fact that one go your eyes will reveal everything," I added, my words den with significe. The realization dawned ohat he must be izant of a Kiorian's power of seeing Visions by now. Recalling my versation with mother, I uood that it wasn't his emotions I was sensing, but my own. The thing that drove him to the brink of madness when I looked into his eyes was the direct absorption of mana from him. Such a direct extra of mana induce immense pain, but in his case, it also seemed to push him towards insanity, I pondered. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Cleal excimed, his frustration palpable as he tousled his hair with his right hand, the blood from my hands still visible on his wrist. His left haed on his hip, pleting the picture of exasperation. "OKAY FINE. WHATEVER!" he angrily ceded. "I was sucked into some random-ass portal that dragged me here." "Hmmm...." I hummed, his palpable irritation with a stoic expression. "So it must be some holy pce. A pce that be accessed by Priests like that dead one," I cluded, turning my gaze back to the window. "Well, mysteries aside for now, let's get out of this room. I really want to wash this blood off my hands," I decred, examining my stained fingers. "Alright," he acquiesced, starting to walk towards the door. I sprio the wardrobe that stood he door. Upon opening it, I was surprised to find...........................my horse riding outfit. "Wow......" I excimed, my voice tinged with a hint of sadness. Cillian halted, turning to face me. "What?" he shot, his tone sharp. "Nothing," I replied, briefly shutting my eyes. "Just my clothes," I added, reopening them to survey the familiar attire. The blood on my hands wasirely dry yet. "Umhh........Cleal...." I could sense his pierg gaze fixed upon me from across the room. "Haah...." He sighed, approag the wardrobe and beginning to gather my belongings for me. An embarrassed, ashamed smile crept ay face. "I'm sorry," I murmured as he collected the items. "And you better be," he retorted, striding out of the room. I followed closely behind him. As we desded the spiral staircase, its steps dusty and cold beh our feet, We emerged outside, realizing that there had only been a single room iire structure all along. We tinued our silent walk, our eyes darting around to take in our surroundings, We finally stumbled upon a water source, apanied by an ued yet wele sight - a gazebo. The juxtaposition of this refiructure against the wild, unfamiliar ndscape was both jarring and oddly f. I rushed towards the pond, eager to se my bloodstained hands. However, as soon as my fingers breached the water's surface, I let out a startled cry, "SHEEESH!" and yahem back. The water was frigid, remi of melting ice. As I stood there, torween the need for liness and the disfort of the cold, I heard Cillian's footsteps behind me. He approached the gazebo with measured steps, carefully pg my riding outfit and boots on its raised ptform. Then, he made his way to where I stood, indecisive by the water's edge. Squatting down beside me, he began to roll up his sleeves, revealing arms that were surprisingly slender. It struck me then how thiruly was; his arms could easily be mistaken for those of a woman ihirties, save for the subtle definition of lean muscle. "Oh, you think so? That's strange. I was uhe impression it was a nice warm bath," he drawled, his voice den with sarcasm. His eyes casually surveyed the water as he grabbed my csped my hands, and rubbing them for me beh the surfabsp;"I wash them up myself," I protested, feeling embarrassed. "I know," he replied simply, tinuing his ministrations without pause. Suddenly, I jerked my hands free from his grip and out of the water. His gaze followed the movement, and seizing this momentary distra, I plunged my hands bato the pond. This time, I captured his hands, which were still submerged, and began to scrub away the blood that had transferred to his wrists earlier. As I worked, I could feel his gaze upoudying my face with curiosity. A smile, both enigmatid amused, pyed across his lips. "Oh my," he mused, his voice carrying a hint of surprise and pyfulness. "Is this your way of returning the favor?" The lightness in his tone was a stark trast to the gravity of our situation. I chose to remain silent, fog ily on my task. Time seemed to slow as I meticulously ed away every trace of blood from his wrists. Finally, satisfied with my work, I broke the silence. "All done," I announced, my voice steady despite the tumult of emotions swirling within me. He slowly withdrew his hands from the water, rivulets running down his arms as he raised them for iion. As I observed his skin, a peculiar thought struck me. That small amount of blood had taken nearly three mio wash off, whereas both my fully blood-covered hands had taken the same amount of time. This observation lingered in my mind as I turned back to the water, i on washing the blood from my fabsp;"Is the blood stain gone?" I inquired, looking up at him after spshing water on my fabsp;"Nope," he replied casually, using his knees as leverage to stand upright. I tinued washing my face for a bit longer while he stood there, rolling his sleeves back down. "Now?" I asked, turning my face up towards him once more. "Yeah," he firmed. Then, in an ued move, he walked behind me, squatted low, slipped his arms beh my armpits, and yanked me up with him in one fluid motion. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????A cascade of question marks flooded my mind as I watched him sauowards the gazebo. Bewildered, I followed behind him. "Hey," I called out. "What?" he asked, pig up my riding outfit and walking towards me to hand it over. I accepted the clothes, and as I looked down, a question formed on my lips. "'t you use your demonic power to get us out of here?" "I 't. I don't have enough Uri to teleport us," he expihen raised an eyebrow. "But shouldn't you be able to teleport us back?" "I used up quite a lot of mana when I killed the bear earlier," I replied, averting my gaze to the side. "Haaah..........so we'll be stuck here for a while then. But I wonder why I'm not tired in the slightest," he mused, gng around. "Anyway, go ge in this dome thingy first. I'll stay by that pond. Don't worry, I won't look," he added. I watched as he settled himself by the pond, fag the building, while I retreated into the gazebo to ge. *8 mier* As I uttered the words "I'm done," a sense of finality permeated the air around me. I stepped out of the gazebo, its ororucture now seeming like a reli a distant past. The cool evening breeze caressed my skin, carrying with it the faint st of jasmine and something else............something indefinable. My eyes sed the surroundings, expeg to see Cillian's familiar silhouette, but I was met with an uling void. The absence alpable, as if the very fabric of reality had been altered in those few moments I'd spent ihe gazebo. "EH? Cillian?" I called out, my voice pierg the eerie silehe sound reverberated through the empty garden, each echo a haunting reminder of my solitude. "Cillian?" I repeated, desperation creeping into my tohe ck of response was deafening. A weary sigh slipped from my lips as I resigned myself to the mystery of the inexplicable disappearance. I made my way back to the pond, carefully washing the blood from the dress before returning to the gazebo. I id it oform to dry, trying to shake off the uling feeling that lingered. Suddenly, a voice startled me from behind. “AHH! It’s you. The ohey’ve been talking about.” I turo see who it was. An old man stood there, his long white beard flowing down his chest, dressed in a white robe. His grey eyes were sharp and observant as he leaned on a staff for support. Beside him was Cillian, his expression a mix of jealousy and irritation that only seemed to deepen. He's getting irritated quiet often now. I thought to myself narrowing my eyes at this old manwho looked like a priest. I remained silent. “I kept my promise. You better spill the beans now,” Cillian shot back, hands shoved in his pockets as he gred down at the old short man. “Yes, yes, yes,” the elder replied, stepping closer to me. He raised his right hand, asking for mine. I hesitated but eventually pced my hand in his. “Yes, the awaited one,” he said with a smile. “Now, follow me.” He released my hand and turo lead us away. Cillian and I exged gnces before following him. As we walked around the area, Cillian’s irritation bubbled ain. "Old-timer, be kind. And tell me. No, just SPILL THE DAMN BEANS and keep your f*g promise." I elbowed Cillian for his choice of words in front of an elder. The old man chuckled lightly, seemingly unfazed by Cillian's outburst. “Ahaha. You both were brought into the Holy Empire—a pce where High Priests like myself are promoted after serving God for years. When we’re officially aowledged by God, our holy powers allow us to ehis Holy Empire, the Land of Gods. This building belongs to me; I live here.” As the old man's words sank in, I felt my face settle into a bnk mask, mirr Cillian's expressionless visage. My mind, however, was rag. Hmm.....no wonder I haven't been able to summon Veles all along. Dragons and Holy Empires don't get along, meaning Cillian absolutely 't use his Demonic powers at it's full potential. But the fact he still was able to use it slightly means that this pce....is not purely a Holy Empire where only the God's w regins. Cillian's voice cut through my thoughts, sharp and suspicious. "And where are we going, Geezer?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing as he gred at our elderly guide. The old man turned back, a ugh esg his lips. "We? Oh," he excimed, his eyes twinkling with mischief, "I'm sorry, it's just her and me." His smile widened as he delivered this bombshell. "Wha-" Before Cillian could protest, the old man tapped his staff on the ground. In an instant, Cillian vanished into thin air. My eyes widened in shock, but I kept my posure. "Now that the demonic d is gone, let us resume," the old man said cheerfully, turning back to tinue our journey. As I silently followed him, my mind was w overtime. Cillian robably sent bair, I reasoned. But I couldn't shake the utling in my gut. My hand twitched, ready to strike if things took a turn for the worse. This smiling old man might look harmless, but I was determio end him if he proved to be a threat.As we tinued our jourhe old man led me into an a, mystical underground chamber. At its ter y a serene, glowing pool that immediately caught my attention. The chamber was a sight to behold - grand, weathered arches and ns surrounded us, while broken fragments of the ceiling allowed ethereal beams of light to filter through. The pool itself emitted a soft, turquoise glow that seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy. I felt my eyes narrow slightly, a grave utling in my gut. The old man approached the water's edge, tapping his staff oone ground three times. He raised his left hand and began to recite what sounded like a prayer, his words eg off the chamber walls. Suddenly, a tornado erupted from the ter of the glowing pool. It iral of blinding light, mesmerizing in its iy ay. As I stood transfixed by this incredible sight, I felt a tap at my feet. A violent shiver ran up my spine, and before I knew what was happening, my body began to move of its own accord. I found myself standing as close to the tornado as possible, my hand raised arating the swirling water. "Very good," the old man said, a pleasant smile on his face as he watched me. "The God will be happy," he added, his words sending another chill through me. Without warning, an unknown force pushed me back. The tornado receded into the pool, and a new spiral materialized above where it had stood moments before. I finally regained trol of my body, my mind reeling. Was I hypnotized just now? I wondered, as an unbearable light from the spiral pierced my eyes. Then, a series of deafening sounds filled the chamber, *CREEEEESH* *CREEEEESH* *CREEEEESH* *CREEEEESH* *CREEEEESH* I swiftly turned my head back, only to be met with a chilling sight: hungry bck wolves, their eyes gleaming ah bared as they growled menagly. They must have been drawn by the light, I realized, scrambling to my feet. Turning back towards the old man, I saw him standing with his arms outstretched, seemingly in awe of the portal that was f. A portal? Did he just make me open a portal? I thought as I gred at him, furious at his apparent indiffereo our predit. First a bear, and now this? Damn it. I thought, gng back at the pack of wolves that had gathered. I quickly assessed my remaining mana. I 't burn this entire pce, I definitely don't have enough mana to do so. Will creating a barrier do it? No, that won't be enough. NO, more importantly, where does that portal behind me lead to? Killing that man right now is more imporant than these beasts. I thought as I took slow, careful steps backward, trying to avoid provoking an immediate attack from the wolves. If only I could bind them to my will, I mused, stealing an the old man. Letting out a resigned sigh, I made my decision. In a burst of speed, I ran back towards the old man and- *SHAAAA* Kicked him into the pool with my right leg, and with that, the wolves were triggered. I spun around, fag the now agitated pack. "DRAGON FLAMES!" I shouted, unleashing a torrent of fire from my right hand towards the advang wolves. Behind me, I could hear the old man's panicked cries. "AHH AHH HELPP!" he shouted, thrashing ier. The wolves touched by my fmes began to whine and fall, but more were ing. With a practiced fliy wrist, I summoned a bzing fire sword, the on materializing in my hand. Without hesitation, I unched forward.To be tinued...