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Part
XIX – Insert Rescue Mission
As they saw their
youngest sibling carried away by a small group of blood sucking Ura, the three
remaining sisters let out a wail filled with agony. They lashed out with
renewed vigor striking down the surrounding Ura.
Momotaru let out a roar. He was surrounded by the
undead demons. While slashing furiously at the creatures that sought to rip him
to shreds and drink his blood, Momotaru drew in more energy. His pitch-black
eyes seemed to grow darker. They drew in latent energy that swirled like the
light of a sun trying to escape the gravity well of a black hole. Momotaru
gathered energy until he felt as if his individual cells would burst. So he let
his body do what it was on the verge of doing, releasing the stored energy in a
massive burst of radiation that shot outward. Several small tornadoes of
bluish, white, and black wind swirled him. Dark clouds formed underneath the
canopy of the forest from which lightning struck. Several fires started.
Somehow, Momotaru had summoned a weather disturbance that fit within less than
a kilometer and devastated the area as if it were a natural disaster.
In a matter of minutes, all of the Ura that had
assaulted the humans had been destroyed. Kya ran up to Momotaru with a scowl
plastered on her face.
“Now do you see why we should never have come here?”
said Kya. “Hurry, we have to go after her.”
“I still have enough energy,” said Momotaru. A small
twister of dark wind circled his feet and lifted him into the air. “While
within The Void, I can conjure up enough energy in order to burn this entire
forest to the ground.” He stretched out his hand.
The eldest twin, Cynia ran forward to block his path.
She reached upwards, standing on the tips of her toes and clasped Momotaru’s
calloused caramel hand within hers. Their eyes connected, Momotaru slowly
descended back to the ground and let the power from The Void leave his body. He
breathed deep, chest heaving up and down.
“Please don’t do that,” said Cynia. “Right now
Chyntel is unhurt. I can still feel her presence. She’s afraid but safe. If you
destroy this forest you might hurt my sister or prompt the demons into killing
her.”
“If we have any hope of finding her,” said Monel. “We
had better hurry before the trail disappears.”
With a nod of his head, Momotaru and his team of
assassin sisters set out. Kya and Monel took the lead. They followed the trail
of broken tree limbs and crushed underbrush. Quietly creeping through
decomposing leaves and dry pine needles, they crept up behind the small group
of Ura. They stood concealed in the underbrush, huddled several meters away,
observing their adversaries. Soon they had located their sister. For some
unknown reason, the Ura had chosen to stop their mad dash through the forest. The
humans had to be very careful as they crept closer since the senses of the
undead creatures were far better than theirs.
The assassin sisters used unique hand symbols to
communicate with one another. They formulated a plan to save their sister. Momotaru
looked at the group in confusion. The sisters used basic, universal hand
gestures to inform him that he should just wait here. After the eldest sister,
Kya gave out orders, each of them moved silently into position. They crept
through the forest and positioned themselves into a wide triangular formation
around the group of Ura in order to make sure the demons could not escape.
With everyone in position, they sprung their trap. Monel
was the first to act. She threw a smoke bomb down in front of the Ura. Monel
leapt from behind a bush. She used the fog to her advantage and crept through
it with silent footsteps. Once the Ura locked eyes with her, they were unable
to look away. Monel’s special ability allowed her to alter someone’s reality
once they fell under the control of her ocular power. The ancient saying from
her home of High Garden Clearing was that, “the eyes are the gateway to one’s
inner temple” was one that Monel exploited at every opportunity. With her
unique ability she was able to gain access to that temple and once inside, kick
her shoes off and make herself comfortable. For the individual under the ocular
spell, time was a strange notion, it extended forever, seconds felt like years.
As Momotaru watched from a distance, he marveled at
the sight in front of him. The Ura that had locked eyes with Monel now stood in
a stunned trance, slightly swaying back and forth.
Cynia was the next sister to spring into action. She
dashed forward like a squirrel skittering underneath the feet of giants. Once
she was amongst the Ura, she picked her sister up and carried her to safety,
eventually making her way to where Momotaru watched in amazement.
The last of the sisters to jump into the fray was
Kya. Just as the ocular power of Monel was fading, Kya crept up behind the Ura.
The Ura shook their heads as they came back to reality, looking around, stunned
and confused. Before they could gather their bearings Kya struck. She sliced
the throats of the demons. She watched as they clawed at their ruined necks to
try and stem the blood that gushed. The demons fell to the ground. She stood
over them with a frown on her face, looking down on them as the life drained
from their bodies and the creatures turned to ash.
Momotaru knew that he had chosen his bodyguards well.
Together they would make a powerful team. In short order they found their way
out of the Ura Forest and back to the outskirts of the High Garden Clearing
town walls. In the distance, the glow of the rising sun transformed the cloudless
horizon from a blackish blue to a rich navy. As the front gate of the city
slowly opened, the group was surprised to see the mayor of High Garden Clearing
standing in the entrance and smiling at them warmly.
