Chapter 23: Chapter Twenty-Two: Arid Adversary

Sheathing his sword, Ace scanned the area surrounding him and Hackett, turning about frantically whilst remaining in-place.
“There’s no telling where it is while it’s beneath the sand!!”

“We’re bound to notice at some point. There’ll be hints...”
Hackett responded.

“Like...that?”
Ace called, now facing toward a growing pit of falling sand.

Hackett immediately stumbled away from it and ran. Ace followed, and distance between them and the pit grew, until Drach’t burst out from it, but not alone. Two copies of itself had also emerged from that pit - just as mad, but significantly smaller than the first. With three Drach’ts now, the situation seemed a lot more dire, yet the two warriors remained steadfast.

“This again?”
Hackett blurted out.
“We need to strike the smaller ones down first, then stop it before it summons more!”

The smaller copies immediately lunged out of the pit, straight toward the two warriors, while the larger one stayed put. Hackett leaped back, wielding his axes in defence, while Ace stepped forward and struck the death worm lunging toward him. His sword bashed the worm, and with the amount of force from the impact, it cut past the scales and began to cleave through it. The copy screeched and writhed, unable to stop its own momentum before struggling to dig into the sand with the gash in its body. Ace let out a shout and struck it again before it could escape, and it screeched once more - the wound splitting open further - before its entirety burst into black dust. The dust then scattered about, vanishing into thin air.

“That’s one down, two to go!”
Hackett called.
This seems too easy, though...!

As the second copy charged toward the two warriors, Hackett ran at it and sliced through its scales with his axes. It wriggled about just as much as its previous copy, but made little to no effort to escape. As Hackett continued to run the blades of his axes through its flesh, it gave one last screech of pain before dispersing into black dust as well. The larger Drach’t then gave an aggravated hiss. It emerged completely from the pit and circled around the two warriors.

“So this thing has the ability to duplicate itself? Why didn’t you say that earlier!”
Ace questioned.

“Well I didn’t really get a chance to explain before it showed up, did I?”
Hackett retorted.

The two then shifted their positions, standing side-by-side. A faint, orange aura began to flow around Ace’s body, and he closed his eyes as he took in a deep breath.

“Finally mastered your Warrior Affinity, huh?”
Hackett chuckled as he glanced over.

“I’ve been training for years...”
Ace responded before slowly reopening his eyes.
“It’s about time we finish this fight.”

The aura surrounding Ace became semi-opaque, and slightly darkened. Smaller particles of the lighter shade flowed through that aura.

“Yeah, about time.”
Hackett humoured.

Another orange aura, just like Ace’s, then began to flow around Hackett’s body as he also took in a deep breath. It soon darkened and became semi-opaque as well. Now strengthened, the pair steeled themselves for one last rush of combat, tightening the grips on their weapons. As Drach’t towered over the two warriors, it let out another deafening roar. It drew its head back and built up more acid inside of its mouth, before spitting it out at Ace and Hackett. This time, the acid scorched through the sand, giving off a slight sizzle as steam rose. The two warriors dodged, before swerving and rushing in to strike. Hackett then stepped sideways, splitting away from Ace and sheathing his axes.

As Ace continued to rush forward, Hackett stopped in his tracks and skidded across the sand as he swung his cloak to the side, revealing the gleaming form of his revolver - massive hunk of iron, its sheer size an obvious display of its power. Aiming it at Drach’t, he steadied his mind, lining up the perfect shot before pulling the trigger, nearly feeling the recoil through his metal arm. Drach’t hissed, angered by the first shot, only to face a flurry of more gunshots, screeching as its scales cracked and it bled. Ace took this chance, while it was distracted, and lunged at it. He struck it with the blade of his sword, breaking through the scales and wounding it. Hackett then holstered the revolver, now taking out three small spiked balls. Each had a fuse, one of which he scratched along the underside of his metal arm.

The fuse lit in an instant with a vibrant spark, and wasting no time, he threw the lit spike ball directly at the wound Ace caused.
“Ace, fall back! Now!!”

Ace noticed the lit fuse and sheathed his sword as quickly as possible, turning and bolting out of the fray. He made a good distance from it before the spiked ball detonated, creating a large explosion which ruptured more of Drach’t’s scales, whilst burning the exposed flesh as well. Stopping to stand beside Hackett again, Ace paused, catching his breath then looking at his friend, shocked and bewildered. Hackett then lit the next one and threw it into Drach’t’s mouth, not paying attention to Ace just yet. The fumes from the next explosion burst from the Corrupt’s maw, searing it from the inside.

“W-! A gun, and bombs?”
Ace questioned.

“What did you expect?”
Hackett replied.

“You’re like a walking arsenal, now!”
Ace joked.

Hackett just laughed and threw the third grenade into Drach’t’s mouth as well. The creature let out a screech of pain and whipped around after that explosion, managing to hit Hackett and Ace back as they were caught off guard. Their Warrior Affinities shielded against the attack well enough, but they found themselves winded. The pair tumbled across the sand, before regaining their composure and staggering to their feet a moment later. They wheezed a bit then laughed it off. Hackett unsheathed his dual axes, and Ace raised his blade to hold it over his shoulder, whilst the Fissured Corrupt gave off another angered hiss. The warriors were still unfazed by its aggression, though.

“Well... A bit of a setback, but now we get this over and done with, properly.”
Ace asked.
“Right?”

“Yeah. Let’s do this!”
Hackett replied.

The aura around the two warriors still lingered but was beginning to fade as they felt the exhaustion kicking in. Knowing that, Ace ran in first, and Hackett followed. Drach’t roared, before throwing itself toward them. They both dodged to its sides and struck it, now slicing through its scales and running their blades through. Although they were getting tired, so was Drach’t weakening. It tried to whip about again, but now was unable to shake them off as they cleaved their weapons through its body. Thick, black blood spurted out from the gaping wounds before Drach’t, at last, let out one final screech before bursting into black dust, soon vanishing into thin air.

The two warriors then staggered back, dropping their weapons and falling onto their backs. They tried to catch their breaths as they laughed and cheered, releasing their Warrior Affinities now that the fight was over.

“Woo...! We...we finally... Heh. We finally killed it...! Ha-ha!”
Ace cheered, almost breathless.
“We killed a Fissured Corrupt!!”

“Yeah...we did...!”
Hackett laughed, before rising back to his feet.
“Let’s...not waste the rest of our breaths on cheering, though. We’ve gotta get out of the open desert first...before another sandstorm kicks up!”

Ace got up and nodded, and the two began on their way. They managed to trek back to the cave they were at way before, where Hackett had set up camp. He sat down and relit the campfire, and as Ace sat down as well, they both let out a sigh of relief.

“Quite the fight, but we really won.”
Ace boasted.

Hackett nodded and smiled. They then quietly relished in that victory, watching the flickers of the campfire, before they heard footsteps approaching the cave. To their surprise, Alterion stood by the entrance, followed by a bloodied and scratched-up Valdus.

“Well, I guess we could say that the fight with Gaur was on a whole ’nother...scale!”
Alterion grinned, while pointing finger-guns at Valdus.

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“I...hate you...”
Valdus growled.

“Too soon?”
Alterion shrugged, still with a smug look on his face.

Valdus gave no further response, only glaring at him. He shoved him aside and staggered into the cave, before collapsing nearby the campfire. Hackett glanced at them, and Ace held a hand to his face.

“Oh...now I feel numb... Where’s a healer when you need one...?”
Valdus complained.

Faint flares of purple fire coated his wounds as he lay still, shivering a bit with a few tears in his eyes.

Ace sighed.
“I knew you’d end up like this...”

“That...lizard-like freak of a Corrupt...ran off on us and left me like...this...! We were so close...to defeating him.”
Valdus groaned.
“So...how’d your fight against Drach’t...work out...? I...heard from a wisp that followed me...about the Fissured Corrupt in Caligra...”

“Just stop talking and rest... You’ll kill yourself if you talk anymore than this. We defeated Drach’t. It’ll take us quite some time to come across a healer here in Eldoria, so we’ll need to get you back to the Canyon of Flames. Even though it may seem like a simple form of magic, you’ll rarely ever find a healer at all.”
Ace ordered.
“It’s one of the rarest Affinities.”

“N-not...that easy to rest...and you don’t need to tell me to do so... I can...hardly move...”
Valdus responded.
...and why can’t I feel the wounds anymore?

“Well, uhh... I’ve got to get back to the forest before Vuryth fucks me up!”
Alterion blurted out with a panicked grin.

The air behind Alterion shattered like glass, revealing a black void. He turned to face it and ran straight through. As he did so, the air reformed behind him, leaving no trace of the portal. Ace and Hackett stared in awe and confusion, while Valdus lay flat, face-first on the ground.

 

Hours later, back at the Canyon of Flames...

“H-hold still, dammit!”
Lilith snapped.
“You’re more than lucky that Hackett could contact us! Can’t believe that you managed to survive this much damage...!”

“Ack! S-sorry...!”
Valdus shuddered.

He could feel the pain of his injuries again since he woke up in the Canyon of Flames, prior to arriving in Lilith’s den, and the purple flickers across his wounds had disappeared as well, although nobody took note of it.

Ignis sighed and ran the palm of his hand down his face, before frowning at Valdus.
“Fool! You act far too carelessly. I would have been sure you’d not commit such reckless acts, and yet here you are!”

“Okay, okay! I get it, sorry! I shouldn’t have tried to fight alone, but what choice did I have? Ace was rushing to Caligra, and...well... Gaur wasn’t going to let us pass, so...”
Valdus’s voice trailed away.
“...I wasn’t thinking...it was the only choice I had in mind.”

“I said...hold...still!! Else I won’t treat your wounds!”
Lilith snapped again, pinning Valdus to the ground.

A shock of pain shot through his body as she shoved him down, and he shuddered, immediately tearing up.
“Gah, fuck!! All right, all right!”

“I know you wanted to help Ace get to Caligra, but that shouldn’t be an excuse to be so reckless.”
Ignis began to quieten a little.
“Anyway... I’m sorry for nagging you so much... I’m just worried. The Fissured Corrupt can become so much more powerful now, and if your injuries were worse-”
Ignis then stopped speaking as he was abruptly cut off.

“Valdus, sit still, and both of you...for the love of the Ancestors-- Shut up!”
Lilith intervened, faint electricity sparking from her vicinity, although not shocking Valdus this time.

Both he and Ignis froze in-place though, with frightened expressions.

“I’ve been stressed more than enough with all this work, constantly inundated with more patients to deal with, and furthermore with the bickering of the lot like you two-- Every time I’m hoping for some time to myself, someone wounds up here all bruised up, or worse. Listen, Ignis, it may not be in my position to say, but as the Healer of the Canyon I ask that you stop the scouts from heading out into such dangerous areas so often. I can only use so much healing magic, before I need to rest.”
Lilith grumbled.
“Anymore and I’ll run out of energy...then who’ll heal...?”

“Right... I’ll... I’ll make sure to let them know.”
Ignis replied, leaving Lilith to her work.
“My...sincere apologies, Lilith...and to you too, Valdus. I’ll be on my way.”

Lilith then resumed healing Valdus’s wounds, letting out a small sigh.

 

Sometime later...

Valdus awoke from within Lilith’s den. He saw the yellow dragon glance back at him then return to sorting her ingredients.

“Go on, get out. You should be good to move now. Just take some time off before you do anything stupid again, or I’ll be the one giving you serious injuries next.”
Lilith warned.

Valdus gave an embarrassed laugh and thanked her, quickly leaving the den. He stopped by the entrance to Ignis’s den, but paused before turning away, and he then let out a defeated sigh.

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