CHAPTER 44

  THE UNDERGROUND PRISON

  The remaining matches of the youngsters weren’t noticeable, and Allynna, who showed promise earlier, began to struggle, barely winning her second round. Meanwhile, Vanir was facing a fire and water mana user. But unfortunately for Vanir’s opponent, water was counterintuitive against lightning, so he could only use fire spells.

  However, the place where that fire and water mage belonged to was this year’s wild card entry in the junior league. A human mage from Sunfall Royal Academy. He was showing his mastery over the fire element, but his every spell contained hesitation, all because of the raw display of ruthlessness which Vanir showed in the previous match.

  Yet, he was from Sunfall Royal Academy, a boy from their ducal household. Since his toddler days, he had received plenty of resources. And since the mana gems and stones come under the fighting aid category, he was using them to enhance his fire spells.

  Hans also used this in his previous year’s matches, and Vanir had a plethora of them stored in his space pocket. The one marked by Xandor and handed down to Vanir by his so-called mentor.

  Seeing Sunfall’s mage using aids, Vanir began to frolick, spreading his magma stones all over the place. However, it wasn’t easy for him to do so; the ducal boy kept blowing him away from his path with his second circle firestorm.

  Yet, the placement of magma stones got completed, and Vanir stood in the centre of the arena. Connecting with a magma stone in his hand, he spread the deep red wisps of mana around, and one after another, the inlaid stones got connected.

  One…two…three… and finally, four concentric deep red circles were lit in the arena while he stood in the centre. “Give up, or you can try.” Vanir asked in a menacing tone.

  The boy was a noble of Sunfall; giving up was against his pride, but his instructor couldn’t afford to have this high noble lying around in critical condition. The four lit-up circles beneath the ground meant a fourth circle spell would be shot.

  The instructors of Sunfall shouted, “Sunfall Royal Academy gives up the match.”

  Since the accident of last year, a rule was amended in the glory wars that instructors have the power to give up the matches for junior leagues without consulting the contestants. It was so that they could avoid another Hans event in the arena.

  “Tch.” Vanir clicked his tongue as he was declared the winner. Walking down the platform, he commented, “What a pussy. It was just a light show.” He ridiculed the Sunfall Royal Academy for getting fooled by the mere facade of four circles he presented.

  People mocked Sunfall despite being fooled themselves while Hans chuckled within the node, feeling the rush of pride. “See, that’s what slaughtering your first opponent brings you. Fear.” he remarked confidently. Now, there wasn’t even a shred of doubt in his eyes regarding Vanir.

  “I don't need to watch any further. Vanir will win this,” he declared, standing up and departing without another word.

  Hera, however, remained quiet. While she initially viewed Vanir as weak, the air he carried around him showed how confident he was with his minuscule ability.

  In the Sunfall arena, everyone's attention was on Vanir. Last year, a boy, coined the hero of Grimgar and later the prince of Parv, shook the Glory wars, and Vanir's attitude and presence were reminiscent of him, capturing the admiration of onlookers.

  After Hans left, the people continued to watch matches and, as he had said, Vanir emerged victorious. Allynna couldn’t carry the momentum she showed in her first match and succumbed in the third round. Even her growth spurt couldn’t replace the experience these people had.

  The second position went to the Knight Association. There was a five-day festival after the Glory Wars in Sunfall, but unlike the previous year, there were no traces of Eclipse. They went silent after the assault on Grimgar and remained dormant for the past year.

  Soon, his friends were scheduled to return; however, there was still a month and a half remaining in Hans’s volunteering service. So, when the Glory Wars ended, the people of Node just returned to their respective duties.

  Hans started to bug Zephyr for sneaking him into the underground prison where several of the red demon infantry were captured alive. But Zephyr kept avoiding him, putting Hans in a relentless pursuit.

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  “Come on, man. I beg you, please spare me.” Zephyr pleaded.

  “Then you should’ve kept your mouth shut.” Hans quipped.

  “Yeah, me and my damned mouth. I should’ve never told you about the underground prison.”

  “It’s on you, senior Zephyr.” Hans grinned. “Now your junior wants to see one.”

  “Nodemaster will have my neck if something happens there.” Zephyr showed concern.

  “What can happen?” Hans asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

  “That place is inside the barrier. What if some mishap happens to you?” Zephyr asked, “People call you a trouble magnet. I’m not taking chances, so it’s a hard pass from me, junior Hans.”

  Hans grinned inside, “So he is showing his true colours, man. He should take acting classes. Does he think fooling me is as easy as taking candy from a child? But man, it sure is exciting to see what he has planned for me.”

  “Come on, senior Zephyr, just point me in the direction. I swear you won’t have any hand if any mishap occurs.”

  “Can I take your word for it?” Zephyr asked, his expressions hidden behind a mask of concern, but there was a scheme in motion, and Hans knew it very well. These kinds of people he always associated with, that’s why he had a hard time understanding Hera. However, his excitement had overshadowed his concerns as always.

  “Wanna scare me or humiliate? Just how far this elf bastard will go, let’s see.” Hans thought inside and nodded at Zephyr’s earlier question.

  “Okay, junior, just follow me closely.”Zephyr sighed to show his reluctance, but his hidden excitement wasn’t a stranger to Hans anymore. He led Hans on a narrow path, going underground.

  “It’s strange,” Hans commented, halting Zephyr’s step. “Why isn’t anyone guarding this place? This is supposedly a path to an underground prison, right?”

  Zephyr, perplexed, answered, “Do you think I’d let anyone see me leading you?” He stuttered a little and continued with a provocative tone, “If you are getting cold feet, shall we return?”

  “That ain't enough to rile me up, but I’ll bite since you are trying so hard.” Hans almost let out his chuckle. “No way.” He acted as if he was provoked, giving Zephyr’s heart some calmness that his plan was still in motion.

  “Go down and do not make any contact. You just have to see one and come back the same way.” Zephyr said, his tone commanding.

  “Yes, yes.” Hans nodded in agreement.

  His short journey down began through some narrow stairs and soon he came across a tunnel leading inside a barrier from the underground. As he moved further inside, he could feel the obscene amount of sunstone energy of the barrier.

  “Hmm… I’m inside the barrier.” He mumbled and halted as he felt something clicked below his feet. He cursed crying, “God damn stupid, you fell for something like this— Swoosh!”

  He felt the space mana surrounding him, similar to what he used in connecting Mystic glades and Man-eating forest of Concordia. “Ah Shit!” He said in frustration and opened his eyes under a red hue.

  “The fuck! Where am I?” He mumbled as he saw his surroundings, everything was covered under a red light, even the green leaves of the nature appeared red, the water in the puddle was also red. “Shit! Shit-shit-shit… I’m in the Deadlands,”

  Hans realised as he recalled the words from the node library book. Everything is covered in red light of the barrier and days and nights are irrelevant inside it. “I thought that petty elf would try matching me up with a red demon but this bastard sent me to their home. This is beyond cute. He’ll have to answer— stop the threatening act. And let’s just see how much deeper in the shit I am, first.”

  After looking everything with his mana-filled eyes, Hans fell on his bottom. “Bananas. I forgot to look up anything on traversing deadlands. There are no stars, no sense of direction either. How am I supposed to find my way back—”

  “You don’t.” A voice from the sky above interrupted him, and he became cautious as his eyes searched for the hidden source. “You’ll die here,” the hidden voice echoed.

  Hans searched with all his senses but found no one. “So who’s my date today?” he shouted, “Zephyr the matchmaker won’t disappoint me, is he?—”

  “Shick!” A red line drew across Hans’s cheek, and soon a trail of blood followed. He was startled; he couldn’t even sense his foe yet his foe managed to attack him, and it even felt they could’ve gone for his neck but chose not to.

  “There is no way this is a red demon.” Hans got ready instantly; his strong defensive tendrils surrounded him, encasing him inside. But they weren’t just taking defensive measures. They were slithering through the surroundings, making it Hans’s jungle.

  “Shick! Shick!” Two quick attacks bisected his metallic vines, but in place of two cuts, four emerged even stronger. “I can do all this day. So, aren’t you going to tell me who’s my date? I’m telling you first, I don’t dig men.”

  “Woosh-woosh-woosh..” A rotating sphere of light which he was oddly familiar with surfaced above his head.

  “Oh dear lord. I’m beyond fucked.” Hans mumbled as he realised who this person was. “I don’t do married either. Let’s go our separate ways, Queen Reina.”

  “I don’t want to?” Her tone was as cold as he remembered.

  “Coming after my life has serious consequences, elven queen—”

  “Do you think I don’t know that?” She halted him from speaking. “Everyone has habits; hence, come their weaknesses. Yours apparently is over curiosity. That elf boy just had to plant a seed in your head, and you’d have urged him non-stop to lead you to this trap. Am I right?”

  “You want me to give you 100 out of 100? Yeah. It’s yours— but don’t think I’d fall this easily.” Hans started Photonising; the red demon barrier was made of pure sunstone energy; here it became relatively easy for Hans to collect that energy inside him.

  “You chose the wrong place.” Hans lit up gold. “This is my natural habitat.”