Hunter races forward and jumps high before launching himself at the gatekeeper who throws a punch at the former. The sprite aborts his attack, flying over the incoming fist and spinning in the air before landing on his feet behind the gatekeeper.
The gatekeeper turns swiftly, throwing a punch at the dark-haired boy who swerves sideways to avoid the attack only for the armored gatekeeper to spin again, leaving Hunter in the same position he was in the beginning; a big fist coming at him.
The sprite had to think fast, and he did just that, ducking under the attack and bouncing off a large rock nearby letting the larger man's fist crash into the rock that scatters into pebbles.
The sprite had now created enough distance to rethink his tactics. The Gatekeeper was large and fast and Hunter was yet to pick up a weakness or flaw he could use to his advantage.
"Something wrong with your left shoulder?" The gatekeeper asks.
"A little bit but why don't you worry about yourself!" The sprite charge forward again and the gatekeeper matches the teal green-eyed boy's speed, sending his fist straight at his face. Hunter notices the attack just as it was centimeters away from him, the sprite adjusts his footing and steps to the side of the attack, letting the punch fly past him and launches himself backward to create some separation but not before he punches the gatekeeper in the upper arm.
Hunter breathes loudly. 'His size plus the full body armor should be slowing him down and yet --"
The gatekeeper launches himself at Hunter, quickly closing the distance between them and throwing a punch at the sprite.
Hunter avoids it, spinning round and round until the gatekeeper smashes another large rock. The dark-haired takes a few steps backward before blasting a quick punch at the gatekeeper who bends backward and avoids it.
[Hunter ...]
'I see it, he's trying to make me get close.' Hunter jumps backward and takes a moment to analyze his opponent.
The Gatekeeper was wearing full body armor with small openings only in his armpit and knee pit region. The gapings were too small and the Gatekeeper would have to either throw a punch or kick for the sprite to have a shot and with the Gatekeeper's long limbs and agility, there was no way the sprite could avoid and attack simultaneously, he would have to settle for one or the other. Hunter's healing ability was still locked so he couldn't afford to take a punch from the larger man.
'However,' the sprite thought to himself. He races forward once more, his back bent downwards and head lowered with his eyes fixed on the Gatekeeper's knee.
The Gatekeeper of the Deadland quickly picks up the sprite's plan to attack the small opening between his armor and throws his right leg at Hunter. The dark-haired boy slides underneath the attack, a small smile appearing on his face; the larger man had taken the bait.
Hunter moves behind the Gatekeeper and kicks his left knee pit so that he falls to his knees. The sprite spins to face his opponent, that was it, that was the opening he was going for: the opening on the throat region. The dark-haired boy clenches his fist and raises his fist high before throwing a thunderous punch aiming for the Gatekeeper's throat.
The punch connects but not in the region Hunter had intended; the Gatekeeper had stopped the punch with his palm, holding on to the sprite's fist.
'Shit! This guy just pulled the uno reverse card on me!'
[And he has you where he wants you]
The Gatekeeper throws a left hook followed by a right hook and then an uppercut and another left hook.
Ishani looks away as the Gatekeeper pounds on the sprite, beating him black and blue.
"Is there nothing we can do to help?" She asks the pure demon.
"The entrance ritual is sacred and its rules must be adhered to. The young master must see to the end of the battle; surrender or die."
...
Hunter lies on the ground panting while the Gatekeeper walked up towards him.
'Remind me again why I chose hand-to-hand duel?'
Once the larger man got close to Hunter, the sprite's lips curl upward. 'And reverse!' The teal green-eyed boy leaps upward and punches the Gatekeeper in the throat.
The Gatekeeper staggers backward and the sprite throws a left hook that he quickly follows up with a right before he steps back and hit the gatekeeper of the deadland with a roundhouse kick.
The Gatekeeper falls to the ground and disappears. "Huh? Where did he go?" Ishani queried.
"Away. The Gatekeeper disappears to acknowledge defeat," Naamah explained.
"It's over? Awesome! That battle took a while," Ishani noted.
"Shorter than I imagined," Naamah said. "Can you walk?" She asks.
"I'll be fine," he replies.
'When is my regeneration ability coming back?'
[Soon]
"One thing you should know before we go further," Naamah said.
"What?" Ishani queried.
"Everyone in here recognizes me," said the pure demon.
"Okay?"
"Everyone in here hates me," she stated. "So they will most likely attack us once they sight us," she explained.
"Good to know."
"Great!" Naamah smiled. "Now you two get closer," she said.
"What for?" Ishani asked raising an eyebrow.
"I want to transport us to the prison cell, you know, where master's friend is," Naamah said.
"Can you not call him that? Can you ask her to not call you that?"
Hunter shrugs. "I kinda like it," he said.
"Of course you do," Ishani said rolling her eyes. "Why didn't you do this earlier? You know, before the 'master' got the shit beat out of him?"
"I did not get the shit beat out of me and I was only joking about the master thing," Hunter stated.
"Easy," Naamah started in response to the battlemage's question. "You cannot port into the deadland if you're outside the deadland. You have to be inside before you can do any of that," she explained.
"Whatever," Ishani said before the two students move close to the blue-haired pure demon. "Alright," she said before clapping her hands together.
Hunter sees a disc and then flashes of different points in his life, including some he couldn't recognize but before he could make out any of them, he was in front of a very large wall.
"Holy shit! What was that?!" said Ishani, her eyes wide open. "Did you see what I saw?" She asked.
"No, what you saw was different from what he saw," Naamah said.
"What exactly was it?" Hunter asked.
"Your past mostly but also other possibilities and alternative timelines if you had made a different choice or decisions in the past; it's the in-between and I'm sure you know not to take it too seriously, don't you, master?" She said before turning to face the huge wall. "What you really should be asking is why we ended up outside the prison when I wanted the moving disc to take us inside," she stated.
"Maybe because the wall is reinforced?" said Ishani.
"Ooh, like a GD-IU reinforced glass from quantum realm corp?"
"Is that a reference? You've been in Hel for so long, how do you know about --"
"Wait," Naamah said raising her hand to silence him. "She's right, I can sense a dark magic spell around it." Naamah turns to face Ishani. "Nice guess. You're pretty smart, I see why the master hangs with you."
Ishani rolls her eyes. "Unbelievable," she muttered.
"Naamah, you're the dark magician among us, think you can break the spell?"
"No," she shakes her head. "I don't touch dark magic," she stated.
"What do you mean you don't touch dark magic? Bitch, you are dark magic," Ishani frowned.
"Not really no," the pure demon rejected. "I don't do dark magic," she stated.
"You're crazy --"
"Wait," Hunter interjected. "If you don't do dark magic, what do you do?" He asked.
"Pure magic and black magic," she stated.
"Really? You can use pure magic even though you're a demon?" Hunter asks genuinely surprised.
"Shocking right? But yes I can ... I had a really good teacher," said the blue-haired demon.
"Amazing. So what exactly can you do about the wall?" He asked.
"Hmm," she said placing her hand on her jaw and her pupils move upward. "I know!"
Naamah places her index and middle finger on her forehead before closing her eyes. Suddenly, the ground next to the wall began to glow and giant demon hands rise from below and destroy the entire reinforced wall.
"Whoa!"
A demon not too far from the trio frowns at them and turns to his partner and says something Hunter couldn't quite understand.
"What language was that?"
"That's the demonic script. You didn't think everyone spoke English, did you?"
"No. What are they saying?"
"Well ... You probably should hurry up and go rescue your friend, it's about to get crowded here," she said.
"Ishani?"
"I'll stay here," said the battlemage. "You hurry up," she stated.
"Sure, sure, sure!" Hunter made his way past the broken wall, over the rubble, and into the prison.
Zoe was a very powerful mystic so Hunter could easily sense her once he was inside. He walked past the empty cell blocks headed for the sprite.
He followed the huge power he was sensing to one of the cells deep into the prison. There was a lady inside the cell and though her back was turned to him, Hunter could tell that the lady was Zoe. He pulled the door and forces it open. It makes a creaking noise but Zoe did not turn around.
"Hello! Do you have time to talk about your lord and savior ... me?"
The fiend's ears perk up and she turned upon hearing the voice of the dark-haired boy, she races across the small cell and embraces the sprite. "Hunter," she cried.
"Hey, hey. Are you alright?"
"You're not real, are you? I'm imagining this," she sobbed.
"Nah, this is real ... Or at least I hope it is otherwise this dream has been going on for some time," he stated.
Zoe places both of her hands on each side of his face. "Why is your face all bruised up?"
"Long story. Come on, my friends are waiting for me outside," Hunter said grabbing the fiend by the wrist and pulling her out of the prison.
...
"How did you piss off so many people?!" said Ishani as she punches a demon away.
"I told you!"
"Hey guys," Hunter said with Zoe next to him.
"Is this her?" Naamah asks.
"Yeah," Ishani replies before the sprite does. "Now get us out of here."
"Alright!" Naamah said clapping her hands together.
Hunter sees a disc followed by flashes of different scenes and points from his life, similar to the first time Naamah had used her moving disc and then it was gone just as fast as it came.
Hunter took in his location; the sky was rainbow-colored with glittering stars making the scene very bright.
"Where are we?"
"Hunter --" Zoe said softly, her voice low, almost a whisper.
"What is --" Before the sprite could finish his sentence, the fiend falls to the ground with a loud thud.
"Zoe!"
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