"Ah, Ashuril, Lorrai— " Yuuta was interrupted before he could greet anyone.
In a flash, one of the men wearing a white robe appeared in front of him, lifting him and Yua off their feet and bringing them to the corner of the shack. Compared to Ashuril and Lorraine who were terrified to the core, this man was extremely calm, as calm as a lake on a clear day.
"You're bravery knows no bounds mister. If it were us, we wouldn't have risked our life entering the Mirror of Spirits without anyone with the Holy Element with us. And not only did you save this girl, you also lured Aarkra towards us, with that you have our thanks." The man muttered, patting Yuuta on the back before addressing the other figures in white robes.
"Ready the tracing!" The man shouted.
Ashuril and Lorraine gulped as they grabbed some sort of staff from their back and readied it. Yuuta didn't know what the 'Tracing', or whatever it is, was so he decided to remain unmoving. He could tell that they were in the process of cleansing Aarkra and as such, he didn't move. He held Yua tightly as well for fear that she might run around and get in the way of the others.
"Prepare the Holy Shield!" Another figure, this time a woman, shouted as another person said something unintelligible and a yellow projection of a shield manifested in the air.
"Everyone! Brace yourself, we're just starting."
"AAAARGHHH!!!" An ominous sound erupted all over the shack. Dust and wood fell from the ceiling as the shack was on the verge of crumbling down. Nevertheless, the white-robed people didn't relent, they continued on with their ritual of sorts.
"We've succeeded with the Holy Shield, thank you, Cursur. Now Aarkra can't return to the other dimension."
"Now we have to seal him! Assume formation!"
The white-robed man then went outside the shack and surrounded it. Ashuril and Lorraine also followed suit.
"Let's go." Yuuta simply said as he carried Yua out of the rickety old house. From there, they dashed to the nearby forest, trying not to get in the way of the 'Sealing'.
"Ashuril! Lorraine! Guard the girl and that kid. The other Evil Spirits are closing in on us!" Another white-robed man exclaimed.
"They'll be fine, that teenager came from the Beginner Village, he has the sacred item," Ashuril responded.
The white-robed men stared at Yuuta before proceeding with the 'Sealing'. They finally knew why Yuuta didn't think twice about going to the other dimension— he had the Black Grsrzy Scarf, one of the most sacred items in the world of Lucid, exclusively manufactured and produced in the Beginner Village. And adding to that, the Beginner Village doesn't bestow it to outsiders.
A chant could be heard from the members of the Sacred Stones as they surrounded the old house. Even though Yuuta couldn't understand it, he could tell that the ominous entity inside the decrepit house was growing more and more ferocious as time passed by. "What's happening?" Yuuta asked, turning onto Yua who was leaning on his chest...
That's when he realized that he had been princess-carrying Yua all this time. Even though they were already sitting down, she was on his lap, curled up like a squirrel hibernating in winter. A blush smeared on Yuuta's face as he realized what he has been doing all this time. But even though he was already losing himself on the situation, Yua seemed so comfortable that Yuuta just couldn't bring it up. In the end, he decided to pretend to be oblivious of the whole situation.
What he didn't realize was that Yua was pretending to be oblivious of the whole situation as well. Of course, it's not like she disliked the situation. In fact, she felt so at ease while she was in Yuuta's arms that she didn't want to let go. As she answered Yuuta's question, she leaned on his chest, hoping that the lack of eye contact would make the situation less awkward. " They're sealing Aarkra at the moment and since it cannot escape, it's trying to break free. But right now, the people in white robes are on the process of surrounding it with— it looks like a Holy Circle... "
Suddenly, a fragment of light seemed to descend from the skies, illuminating the dilapidated house. A circle of light surrounded the house, making the fragment of light shine stronger. Soon after, mysterious and intricate ancient writings appeared inside the circle. They seem to reflect the fragment of light, enveloping the entire circle with it.
"RAAAAARGHHH!!!" A scream of excruciating pain echoed throughout the Spirit Jungle, rustling the trees and tearing the air around it. It was so loud that Yuuta had to cover Yua's ears in case it destroyed her eardrums.
A drop of blood stained Yuuta's shorts as he realized that his eardrums were destroyed because of the sound. He looked around, but there was no way he could tell what everyone else was saying. After the shout, Ashuril, Lorraine, and the members of the Sacred Stones were all shouting at each other as if panic broke out within them. Yuuta doesn't know why, however.
"We have to hold on! Just a few seconds left!"
"No! We have to get out of here right now, a swarm of evil spirits is coming our way! If we don't escape, all of us will be consumed!"
"But, how about that young kid and the girl?"
"Yes, we can't just leave them behind. I got an idea, why don't you leave me here alone and I'll try to hold Aarkra and the swarm of Evil Spirits off? With the protection of the Holy Shield, I can do it. But I won't last for long. You have to take the young kid and the girl out of here." This time, it was Cursur who spoke.
"No, we can't just leave you behind! You're the only Holy Element User who bears the Holy Shield. Losing you will be detrimental to the entire assembly! I'll be the one to stay." Another white-robed man called out.
"Urgh, if only Aldunn is here... "
As the members of the Sacred Stones were having a small disagreement, Ashuril and Lorraine nodded at each other as they picked up Yuuta from the corner of the Spirit Jungle. "Yuuta, we need your help," Lorraine called out.
"What?" He asked. Although he already realized that he was temporarily deaf because of his broken eardrums, his mouth impulsively released the 'what' word.
It didn't take long for Ashuril to realize that Yuuta broke his eardrums. Seeing Yuuta's condition, he signaled a small square in front of Yuuta and pointed at the circle of light. "You have to go there! That's the only way!" He enunciated in an over-exaggerated manner.
"Just stay here for a moment," Yuuta said, placing Yua at the edge of the circle.
After seeing Ashuril's hand gestures, Yuuta stood up and headed to the center of the circle of light. Since he couldn't hear anything, he didn't know that all of them were already shouting at him to not get nearer. Yuuta could see them waving their hands and thought that maybe, they were doing so to encourage him.
"Somebody get that kid out of there!" One of the Sacred Stones members shouted but no one dared move a step. They knew that once the formation is broken, Aarkra can escape again. Ashuril and Lorraine could enter the Holy Circle but there's a good chance that they'll disrupt the formation because they had the Holy Element. Clearly, there's nothing left they could do.
And as for Yua, she knew she can't enter the Holy Circle because if she did... who knows what would happen to her.
"AaaAArGHH!" Aarkra continued to scream as Yuuta went nearer. "Don't come near me! You will regret it!" He hissed.
But Yuuta couldn't hear anything. He just kept approaching the center of the circle, oblivious to the screams and the warnings of everyone outside it.
"He's going to get hurt! Someone get him out of there!" Another member screamed.
Aarkra continued to scream, not because he was in pain, but because he was afraid of what would come next. The Holy Circle had him cornered and there was no leeway of escape. At first, Aarkra thought that he could buy some precious time if he stayed long enough in the Holy Circle and not try to get out— he was aware that he can withstand the strength of the Holy Circle, and then it's just a waiting game from there. He thought that if he pretended to struggle out of the circle, the Sacred Stones members would try to unleash more power into the Holy Circle, draining them of their energy...
It was a good plan... and yet, right now, it was all in vain. He forgot about the young kid who had the Black Grsrzy Scarf, a precious item hailing from the Beginner Village. It is said to repel even the strongest of Evil Spirits.
With no way of escape and a repellant approaching it, Aarkra didn't stand a chance. With one scream— this time, it was a scream of extreme agony— Aarkra disappeared from the face of the earth as if he was dust blown away by the wind towards a faraway place.