The Prince of Demons

I woke up with Ikol leaning heavily against me. He's heavy. I shifted a bit, which made Ikol leap up. Ikol and I began stretching while I looked to make sure Zagzin hadn't tried fleeing; he was still fast asleep nearby. We had a little bit before we needed to get moving, so I began mulling over Miril's hint again. You run with your <Mana>, not through it. How did you run through your <Mana>? I think it's how I form my <Mana>. How would forming it to run through it look? I replayed Miril's sprint in my mind, trying to recall every detail I could. It almost resembled the half step between being physical and <Spirit Form>. Wait, that was easily maintainable. Is that how Miril can so effortlessly attack me regardless of which form I'm in? I didn't think she could fully shift between them that fast; it might have been possible to half step and maintain that to be able to attack either. Another thought occurred to me, Hoggdin never said the half step was wrong, it just wasn't <Spirit Form> now that I was thinking about it.

With that in mind, I did the half step form, feeling the odd sensation of being semi solid. As I was more practiced with <Spirit Form>, I was able to see the <Mana> flow around a bit, but not as clearly as when I was fully in <Spirit Form>. I reinforced my body with <Mana>, seeing it form around me with ease. I moved a bit, looking at how the <Mana> was behaving. So if this was with my <Mana>, how did through look? It almost felt like Miril had the world slipping around her. She also was able to carry me while doing it. The odd parts was I didn't feel any wind move around when she did it. I let my <Mana> flow loosely around, trying to grasp what it did naturally; it flowed kind of equally in each direction without any flow to it. I walked in a circle around the tree a bit while looking at my <Mana>. Yea, it just kind of stayed around me which was not helpful. What happened if I tried moving my <Mana> in a specific direction? Imagine a corridor of it? After a bit of effort, my <Mana> slowly formed a tunnel shape forward.

Is this it? I excitedly tried running through it, focusing on maintaining the shape. Good news, the idea was indeed the start of whatever Miril did. Bad news, I immediately lost control of it as my speed exploded, tossing me like a stone across the plains a bit. I skipped across the grass with massive plumes of dirt while tumbling through the air. After a few bounces, I was able to get back in control, seeing how far I was now from the tree where I had started. What? I did maybe a single step before I lost control, but I was maybe a mile or more away. I could barely see where the trees were thanks to Zagzin. Well, time to go back. I reattempted the <Technique>, this time ready for the massive increase in speed. Wait, let's be smart. I also reinforced my body with <Mana> for the inevitable impact of when my control slipped. Just to be extra safe, I activated my shield halo to further reinforce my body. I tried moving towards them while carefully attempting to maintain staying on my feet as my body launched forward. The world seemed to invert for a second as all color drained from around me. Yes! This was it! I was able to take a step, bounding back towards Ikol without flipping my entire body! Wait. Trees. The trees. Stop. Shiza. Shiza. BAM!

The trees successfully stopped me cold, exploding from the force I hit them with. My bones were creaking from how hard I hit the first tree, but I was thankfully not in pain. Splinters flew everywhere as Zagzin was startled awake from the loud sound. He quickly looked around, trying to gauge what was happening. It did not take him long to realize the tree we had slept under had been destroyed under mysterious circumstances. Where the trees used to be were now shattered stumps as most of the top were laying around in pieces. If I didn't reinforce myself as much as I did, I would've broken numerous bones. The only large portion of our shelter were the joined stumps in the ground. How did Miril control it? She moved so effortlessly and stopped in an instant. My current best was one step I couldn't stop. Was there more to the <Technique>? I imagined so, as Miril easily altered her direction leaping from mountain side to mountain side when she carried me. Ikol was looking between me and the tree with awe as his head was shooting back and forth. His mouth was slightly open as he looked back and forth between the two, slowly opening wider.

"That was awesome, Chef!" Ikol cheered. Yes, definitely intended.

"Thank you, Ikol." I replied, giving him a good job head pat.

"Why did you destroy the tree?" Zagzin yawned, not grasping what possessed me to detonate the tree.

"I felt like it." I lied. As far as Zagzin was concerned it was intended.

"That's what Mama does to run! But her stops are nowhere near as stylish!" Ikol chimed. Zagzin looked at the tree and then back at me.

"You used the tree to stop your speed?" Zagzin checked. He's not stupid.

"My control is nowhere near what King Miril is capable of. Her speed is also faster if you want to point that out as well." I snapped at Zagzin.

"I was just trying to figure out what happened." Zagzin muttered. Am I being overly aggressive? Probably a little bit, but Zagzin is currently not someone I am happy with.

"We need to get moving." I ordered as I shook the last bits of tree off of me.

"Yes Chef." The two replied in unison.

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I fought the urge to sigh. I guess that name is going to be sticking. I could hardly complain after subjecting Hoggdin to something similar; I think it would be fair to blame Ikol however. Ikol and I got on Zagzin's back while I checked which direction to fly with <Waypoint Compass>. Zagzin took off, resuming our path to Elijiah. I kind of wanted to try running at the high speed next to Zagzin; it wouldn't be smart to try longer distances until I could control it better. There's a decent chance I could end up sending myself far away from Ikol and have to try and figure out how to reunite with him. Maybe the plains were an okay area to practice as they were fairly flat and open. How did Miril so effortlessly perform the <Technique> while carrying me? Her control was frightening as she did it over much rougher terrain while leaping around; it was something I could only dream of replicating at the moment, but hopefully by the end of the <Journey> I'd be at least able to run with it. As I was debating the <Technique>, I noticed Zagzin veering off our intended path.

Why are you not flying straight? I inquired while preparing my <Mana>.

Because there's someone I do not want to see ahead. Zagzin answered. Hmmm. Let's see why first.

Why are you avoiding them? I checked. It might be the right move, might not be.

Because she is a jerk and violent. I also don't need her knowing I lost to a <Sentinel Lord>. Zagzin grumbled. Maybe she just didn't like the weakling yapping near her.

Straighten back out. We won't slow down unless necessary. I ordered Zagzin. He begrudgingly returned to the correct path.

After flying for several more minutes, I saw who Zagzin wanted to avoid. There was no missing the amethyst dragon that was now near our path. She was flying at a fairly slow pace, seeming like she was just taking her time. Unlike Zagzin, she had noticeable muscle. Her body was not as filled out as the wall of might that was Hoggdin, but she was distinctly a step above Zagzin in how imposing she appeared. Her horns were the most spiraled of any dragon I had seen so far; they were lightly rotated as they went, kind of like twisted spires. As we got closer she perked up, rotating her head to see us. Her underside was an interesting jet black while her ruby eyes were glowing so brightly I could tell the color from a distance. Now that she had seen us, the dragon rotated and flew straight at Zagzin much fast than she was earlier. Her flight form changed as she began moving with immense speed towards us. Zagzin tried diverting a little bit, but it was a useless endeavor. The dragon was upon us in a few moments with a malicious smile as she noticed Ikol and me. Zagzin landed as she slammed into the ground in front of us, keeping her attention on me.

"My, my, my, did someone lose to a <Sentinel Lord>?" the dragon taunted as Zagzin looked away.

"I made a mistake." He grumbled. She made a tsk tsk tsk sound in response while shaking her head.

"How embarrassing; you must have lost pretty badly to have become their ride service." She continued, seeming to enjoy watching Zagzin squirm.

"Can you drop it?" Zagzin requested as he sounded immensely embarrassed.

"Did you not want me to see if I could negotiate your release?" she probed, still smiling viciously.

"I'd rather work under Chef than owe you." Zagzin stated plainly.

"Wow, that is hurtful little brother." She sniffled as she acted offended.

"You are maybe two minutes older." Zagzin snapped before flinching.

"And a whole lot less of a failure. Is that Ikol? So that makes you Chef. Pleased to meet you." The dragon mused, turning her attention to me.

"I gave your brother an out." I defended myself. She looked ready to fight, but I knew from Hoggdin that was something <Spirit Beast> tended to do a lot. In my experience, his promise of fighting opponents my level got shelved for gip whoopings from Miril.

"Oh, I have zero intentions of helping him. I just like fighting." She informed me with a toothy smile.

"How do you know Ikol didn't beat him?" I challenged her which made her chuckle.

"Because he said work under Chef, not Ikol. And I'd rather fight you, not the brawns for brains." the dragon explained calmly. I glared at her.

"Are you looking down on him too?" I snarled. She looked confused before it clicked.

"Brother, did you seriously think yourself better than Ikol? Unlike you, what he lacks in one area he can compensate for in another. Not to mention while he may not be his siblings, his mother is still King Miril." The dragon lectured her brother. Ikol's ears drooped a bit as he didn't like this conversation.

"Why do you all seem to look down on him?" I growled. Ikol moved behind me a bit better.

"Me? Not overly, he's just not his siblings. Ikol is plenty strong, he's just, brute force which bores me." The dragon clarified. I suspected he had siblings off what Miril said, but I'm guessing they're a lot scarier than he is.

"I see." I quipped. I guess I could let her attitude slide as it was hard to argue Ikol didn't rely on his physicality more than anything.

"Now the real question is, who are you? I know your name is not Chef." The dragon inquired.

"You never introduced yourself either, or have your brother introduce you." I pointed out. She looked at Zagzin and growled.

"Chef, meet my sister, Onilin." Zagzin introduced her quickly. Why do dragon names all seem to end with an N? I shook my head, as that was not important right now.

"I am Lux." I introduced myself.

"So, where are you from Lux? I have never seen you around here and you somehow know Ikol, which is odd because that should mean you were from around where the Sovereign and King Miril live." Onilin inquired. She's a bit sharper than Zagzin.

"A place. So, did you want to duel or not?" I checked, as I wanted to get that out of the way.

"Of course. A friendly match, nothing too serious as we all have <Journeys> to continue on. Winner gets to determine the heading of the team?" Onilin offered. That seemed fair enough.

"Since when were you joining my team?" I probed jokingly.

"The chance to give Zagzin grief while traveling with someone King Miril didn't kill for getting near Ikol? Priceless. I'm quite curious just how strong you are, regardless of which of us wins." Onilin replied.

"How are you less arrogant than your brother was?" I asked which made her chuckle.

"Because I was smart enough to check your <Mana> first and know you're going to be a fun opponent." Onilin chuckled as she leapt across the plains a little to get some starting space.

"Fair enough. Winner gets to lead until we reach a point we may have to split. Ikol will signal for us to start." I stated as I got ready to duel.

"Start!" Ikol declared immediately, as Onilin and I both rushed each other.