[Melas] Chapter 92: Springs of Recovery

The explanation when we returned to Qala’taw was long and somber. The village wasn’t very well populated, so the word spread quickly. By the time nightfall came, everyone knew the news of their beloved mountain settlement: it was going to erupt.

And it wasn’t just a small eruption— like the constant ones that they had endured for the past century. Apparently it was going to be a big one.

They weren’t sure why volcanic activity had picked up in Qala after being in its current state for so long; Gennady did seem like he had an inkling of an idea, however he said nothing of it to me.

“So, is that it?” I asked the Dwarf as we returned to our small inn. He shrugged.

“Dunno. What happens next is up to them. I can speak to King Adilet— or talk to a few ministers. But that’s about it. Whether they choose to stay or evacuate is up to them.”

Elda nodded. “It’s none of our business to tell them what to do. We can give them advice, and they can choose whether to take it or not.”

I blinked, looking at the reaction of my friends. “But there are hundreds of people living here.”

“Well, that is a bit generous. There’s maybe less than 500 people living in this village. Most of the young Dwarves leave for the city when they’re old enough anyway. Qala’taw is a village of old people. And old people are stubborn.” The Dwarf scowled as a thoughtful look crossed his face.

I gave him a curious look, wanting to question more on that, but shook my head. I bit back the obvious retort of ‘but aren’t you old too?’ and spoke up in defense of Birzhan and his people.

“Just because they’re old and stubborn doesn’t mean they deserve to die,” I said, steadfast.

“You’re right.” Gennady snorted, “That’s not any sage wisdom. You don’t have to be a Saint to see that.”

“Then why are you just letting it happen?”

“Because unless we hold them all at gunpoint and bring them out of their homes, they will never leave, lass.” His brows arched darkly over his eyes. A morose gaze came across his face. “I know you’re worried. And I had been too— for so long. You’re too nice, Melas. But that’s all we can do for now.”

“The Dwarf is right for once. Good job, your big brain isn’t just for show.” Elda grinned at him.

“Oh shut up, Human. Is that what we’re doing now? Referring each other by our species? I thought you were better than that—”

“I…” I hesitated. Was he right? Probably. I had only just come here— only for the gold too. Why was I trying to play the hero? Stupid conscience, I scolded myself. “Sevin, what do you think?”

I glanced over at the young man who was mulling over a piece of meat on his plate. He twiddled his fork before blinking, finally realizing that I spoke to him.

“Me?”

“Mhm. Should we really just leave without doing anything else?” I asked, giving him a pleading look. What did I really want him to say? I didn’t really know. Unfortunately, he didn’t give me the answer I wanted.

“I… think we should listen to Master Gennady,” he said hesitantly. “It’s the only logical course of action. We came here as Hunters, right? We did our job. And… it’s not like we might even be right, right?”

I grimaced and he murmured an apology. I sighed. “Fine. If that’s what we’re deciding with, we’ll do it.”

It didn’t make me feel good; maybe there were other things I could do back in Jahar’taw to help them. Gennady said he was going to speak with King Adilet after all— and the head of the country itself should be able to achieve more than I could. I was just here trying to do some good and help myself.

“However,” I said and raised a finger, “we’re not going to leave just yet.”

Elda raised a brow. “You got something you want to do?”

I grinned. “I’m going to take a nice, long bath.”

It wasn’t that this world didn’t have baths— that people didn’t wash themselves or clean themselves after a long day’s work. No, they definitely did. It just wasn’t comparable to the hygiene I had experienced in my previous life. So the opportunity to bath in some magic— or mana— hot springs was quite appealing to me.

I wasn’t going to bathe with either Sevin or Gennady of course, and Elda was not interested. So I left them at the inn and spoke with Birzhan— he directed me up the beaten road to the Springs of Recovery and sent me on my way.

I walked alone, cresting the incline by myself. The air grew thinner up here, but it was no longer cold. The steam from the hot springs came emanating even from a distance. Wisps of steam filled the air like a thin bridal veil blotting out the sun.

I walked up with my dagger by my side and my mask on; I wasn’t aware of what Monsters could be awaiting me here. Even though I was told it was safe, I still took some precautions.

For example, if there was anything here that would attack me I couldn’t handle, I would send a Lightning Strike down or a Fireball into the air. Gennady, Elda, and Sevin would keep watching for it. So I trusted that everything would go fine—

I stepped into the veil of the Springs of Recovery, about to dip into the hot springs. And a voice spoke up, cool. Calm. Angry.

“Hello, Melas.”

I spun around and saw a figure standing in the mist. It was feminine, a shadow in the curtain of steam. Yet, I knew who it was.

Saintess Lilith— the azure haired woman— strolled forward slowly. She had a smile plastered on her face, and her spear hefted over her shoulder with her one arm.

Oh you’ve got to be kidding me! I whirled around and raised my hand. Mana coalesced on my fingers…

Then vanished.

The Saintess continued her slow walk forward, uncaring. But her body flashed a moment before I felt the magic disappear. It dissipated, a familiar feeling that I had battled before.

“...Dispel Magic?” I stared at Lilith, aghast.

“Mm, did you really think I wouldn’t learn a trick or two since I last saw you?” she said, stopping a few dozen feet ahead of me. She lifted her spear and twirled it to her side.

What do I do? I thought, eyes darting around me. The best option I had right now was to entertain her talk as much as possible— that was how it worked, right?

I opened my mouth.

“I—”

Lilith dashed forward and my eyes widened. In a single step, she closed the distance and thrust her spear forward. I barely stepped to the side, dodging the attack in the nick of time.

She raised her spear over me as I backed up, but the ground under her shot up. Nothing I could throw at her would hurt her, however I could keep her back.

The stone pillar tossed her into the air for a moment. She flipped and spun to face me as I brought a hand up. A Fireball launched out, then two, and three.

The first one vanished, the magic being torn apart by whatever antimagic miracle she used. However, the other two exploded far above the mountaintop, visible for anyone watching. I ran as fast as I could in the direction of the village ahead. I wasn’t sure how Lilith even tracked me here, but I had to get help. I could not beat her alone.

I only managed to step five feet ahead of me before a hail of large icicles, each the size of my body, sprayed down at me. I threw myself to the side, avoiding the first attack, before raising multiple barriers at once to defend from the incoming beam of energy.

It tore through my barriers, but they held out just in time for me to get up and out of the way. I glanced over at Lilith who was now running at me, back on the ground, with energy coalescing around her spear.

I pointed a finger at her and my own beam of energy lashed out at her. Lilith’s eyes widened, and she stopped performing her miracle. Instead, she deflected the magic attack with her spear. It bounced off, striking a nearby rock wall and shearing it in half.

Rubble fell into the hot springs and sent a pillar of water up into the air. Water droplets came raining down, blocking my vision as I tried to flee again. I took another step forward, with Explosive Orbs conjuring all around me, but they blinked out of existence and a tendril of water grabbed me by the leg.

It whipped my leg up and my face fell flat onto the ground. I dispelled the miracle from the Saintess, but as I crawled back to my feet, my head snapped back as the butt of her spear struck me.

A foot stomped down on my hand as I tried to raise it, and the tip of a spear ran through my leg. I glanced up at the woman standing over me. She had an insane look on her eyes— her face twisted and crooked as she reveled in my pain.

I squirmed under her feet, groaning as I tried to conjure a Lightning Strike. It crashed down on her, but it bounced off the aura of protection around her. Energy— mana— flowed through her body as her spear glowed. She slowly lowered a hand and lifted my mask.

I glared at her.

“Let me go!” I yelled, spitting on her face.

She didn’t even flinch— the crooked smile still pasted on. “Why should I? I have you where I want you.” Lilith spoke mockingly, unbefitting of her status as a Saintess.

“How did you even find me? I did everything right! I laid low, and stayed away from trouble. H— how…”

I whimpered as I felt the sharp pain from lifting her spear back up. Blood dripped down onto my leg and spilled out. I wanted to curl up in a ball and scream, but she jabbed the butt of her spear down onto my chest and kept it there.

“You seem to be in pain, Melas.” Lilith cocked her head. “I don’t get it though— that doesn’t look too bad. Maybe I should cut off your arm and see what happens.”

“Go and f—”

She stepped on the wound on my leg and I screamed. Then it turned to a whimper as she pressed on it harder.

“I tried to be nice, Melas. I wanted to bring you in. I wanted to let you be tried by the courts. But now? I think I might just kill you here.”

“Nice?!” I sputtered and snapped my gaze up at her. “How is that nice? I would have gotten executed! Why would I want that?!”

“Aw, that’s too bad for you. But that’s just life, unfortunately. Things happen regardless of what you want. Or did you think I want to be doing this? That I want to be a Saintess?”

She leaned closer to me, her smile disappearing from her face.

“No.”

She shook her head, murmuring to herself.

“All I ever wanted to do was love who I loved. Lived my life. But the Church chooses these things for you. And you could have just accepted it.”

I stared defiantly back at the Saintess.

“I will never just roll over and die.”

“But you’ll still die,” she said simply. “Now, whether it’s by me or by being crucified and burned is up to me. And I feel like I should I kill you right here—”

The Saintess was interrupted as suddenly a black beam of energy crashed down onto her. It sent her flying to the cliffside, emanating a low hum as it did. I watched as the Annihilator spell continued blasting her as she screamed a guttural cry.

Just in time. I pushed myself up, turning to see the source of the attack. Stalling really does work—

Then I stopped.

A cloaked figure stood before me. It was not the Dwarf I was expecting, nor was the figure holding a weapon. Instead, they had both hands up and a magic circle before them.

They… used the spell?

That was right, the cloaked figure used a Tier 6 spell. They blasted the Saintess back, and was now conjuring another large spell circle in the air. Lilith glanced up, cursing and swearing until she saw the figure and the magic being cast.

“What in Hell—”

A storm of black flames came crashing down onto Lilith. The Saintess screamed as her own red energy fought back. But she was quickly overwhelmed.

“Aghhhhhhhhhh.”

“The Flames of Hell.”

The cloaked figure spoke simply, as more and more black fire swirled around the screaming Saintess. I blinked, staring at the cloaked figure. Is that—

A blast of fire and ice came from Lilith, before being incinerated by the flames. But in that brief reprieve, I saw a figure blur. Lilith leapt from the cliffside and ran, screaming as the fire beat down on her.

Then, the Saintess was gone.

And it was just me and the cloaked figure.

The cloaked figure watched Lilith disappear before turning to me. I looked at the figure, mouth open wide.

“Mom—”

“Hello, Melas.”

An unfamiliar voice spoke over me. It was clearly a woman’s voice, but it did not sound like my mother at all. It was deeper— more rough.

“We finally meet. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity.”

The cloaked figure stepped forward and I backed up. “W-who are you?”

“You don’t recognize me?” The figure tilted her head. Then slowly, she lifted her hood and my eyes bulged at what I saw.

Golden eyes. Obsidian skin. And crooked horns—

A Demon.

A Demon stared down at me, a smile on her face. She walked forward and brought a hand forward.

“I’m Elara. The one who saved you back in Bys. The one first chased Lilith off back in Luke. The one who has been watching over you all this time. And...”

Her eyes glimmered as her slit-like pupils thinned. Her voice grew excited as she helped me up. I got to my feet, and immediately felt my knees go weak as she continued.

“And the one who will help you get home.”

Author's Note:

I don't think I quite know how pacing works. I felt like this was rushed, but when I check my Book 3 outline, it seems I planned this scene to happen a chapter ago. So... yeah. 

Anyway, my second LSAT is tomorrow. I hope it was done well. And I'm sure most of you have already forgotten who Elara is. If you do remember it, comment it down below! 

But I can assure you, she has been mentioned before. Her name, that is.