He attempted to get up but toughly could move when a lupine biting sore reeled over his chest, coughed to release the locked oxygen out his lung, felt the taste of blood whirling through his teeth and tongue, to ran away from a goose-flesh taste like lapping warm frowsy iron which disgusted him he had to spit out. He wasted days and nights to increase his skills, but this monster could simply haunt him down.
The devilish being bounded further to Daniel, saliva hanging on its teeth with each fierce breath showered on his face. Again Crystal picked a few other stones and threw them to its back. This time without a hesitance jumped on her chest and knocked her down, this one was a naughty prey that needed to be finished first, and its eyes glittered in avid and enjoyment as transfused poison to her chest.
She felt a snake just transited to her veins and biting each part of her. She was frightened and not ready to die that soon, even her illness couldn't distract her from living, but this monster just appeared from a hell and caught her. She cursed herself for stepping there unwittingly however they had heard about the recent rumors which became fact through time.
She could at least tell her step-brother. Once these were just a bunch of horror stories on Halloween nights to bring excitement into nights. There, they had found tattered bodies and besides children who had disappeared and never returned home. These weren't epic poems for quietening rebellious kids, but the truth.
Now Crystal calmed down and remained stiff like a spider prey the monster returned to Daniel. Its middle head with only one golden eye got close to his head, the one that allowed this devil to intake his soul within itself. He could hear the screams of prisoned souls, which melted his heart so without any pause used the chance opened his eyes and poached his sword into its stomach.
Hell-spirit stood up on its back feet, green blood gushed out and he slithered on the ground under the demon's claws so couldn't beat him again. He forced himself to stand up and in less than a blink as he speeded his movements his sword got hit by sunlight, sparkled, and exscinded the middle head which fell off and rolled away near Crystal.
The rest of its body landed on earth turned to yellow-red blossoms flames. A white light flew up to the sky rapidly as the caught souls were released to get back in peace, then the fetid being turned to ashes and joined the wind to be forever locked in hell.
Daniel looked around to find his savior, kneeled on the ground while grabbing his sword tightly, his head rolled down released a sigh, everything was shaking and green blood on his sword dripped down. He lost the strength and fell, barely could see the girl who got a poison bite, strangely still alive walked to him, talked to him, but he couldn't hear her voice and Lorena's face was the last thing he could remember after all.
He opened his eyes in a familiar forest cottage, his elementary battle gone over grasp, he needed more battles to improve his skills toward such a demon. His chest was bandaged and the wound got no sore, he saw Atendor's remedies on the table. He turned his gaze to the girl who was peering at him with those beautiful big hazel eyes seemed didn't sleep over nursing him. She looked ill, but after searching his memory realized that her face color is abnormal. The poison may affect slowly, but he remembered she got up after getting a bite, this girl wasn't like every other victim.
A moment later Atendor got back with a vial in his hand. He handed the glassy vial to Crystal and suggested, "Every night only five drops no more no less my darling Crystal, don't forget that".
She bitterly smiled and answered, "Anyways I'll die due to my disease, actually it doesn't matter to me after the freak of four days ago, my blood even rejected the poison".
"Trust me for every illness in this huge universe there are reasons, your blood plasma can be a cure for hell-spirit poison so I won't let you die, tears of Dragon-phoenix can heal you just be patient and don't tell anyone, you know what I mean right?" Atendor emphasized. He knew Crystal before but didn't learn about her illness till then.
Atendor turned to Daniel who was watching them quietly, his green eyes were seeking their actions and brought the old man a satisfying smile, "You are up son, and you were too exhausted Lorena has been praying for you to wake up".
"My scratches have gone, why did I remain unconscious?" he was confused.
"Didn't you ever notice that you get hit by the leg with that poisonous tail?" She asked surprisingly.
"He may stare at its eyes and didn't realize that this girl's blood saved you while even tears couldn't help much just slowing down the process of dying. Without combining it with her plasma I wasn't able to heal you. The tears of your mother cured scratch already." Atendor explained to calm him down.
"I'm appreciating your help and I owe you. Then what about your friend?" he asked Crystal.
"She is fine, I took her away from everything that is happening here, she even didn't remember that you were there." Mira even didn't question her and didn't want to recall that cursed day.
He peered at her, again and again, every day after another, he wanted to take her forever with him. As if he spent more time to know her the color of the world changed to different shades.
The girl brought him back to life and aimed to help her survive whatever her illness is. On the other hand, she could be away from shadow magicians and their potions. Someway the cicatrix of hell-spirit won't fade away and they figured out about it and got curious how this girl got cured and still alive, this way Atendor's identity and dragon-phoenix would reveal and danger going after them.
Somehow she needed a way to make sure even her parents won't chase her for such a matter, thus Atendor gave her a drug to bring her heartbeats down and gave her a temporary death, Daniel didn't agree that at first, but Crystal didn't want to be involved with those filthy magicians at all and let her parents ruin her life. They had sold their soul and brains to them and recently she discovered that they are spying for them and got even more shameful.
The day that she saved Daniel's life also brought a big change to her own. Their grayish world turned to a green plain in which no bugs could steal their peace and ruin their precious life.
He sent crystal to Everin and Arno who were traveling to make a safe house and build up their team. Rose died and Sofia negotiated with other material art masters and improved their skills because she never believed that Rose could end up her own life as she knew her very well whether she kept being quiet to save Daniel and Luisa, but aware of nasty enemies that they had gotten. Her death remained like a puzzle till the right time.
***
Daniel smiled at the memory of those days and said, "We will take back our peace. We passed hard days to learn".
"We will and our children won't see these days," Crystal agreed.
**
My loving readers soon, I'll gift you with a mass release for free chaps, however, I got the contract and I would go premium so you will need to unlock the latest chapters, please vote your valuable power stones, leave me your comments, and guesses through this journey to boost my writing and motivate me as I'm making ready more tales. I would love to have a joyful discussion between us.
Love and peace,
*Naz*.