“Don’t leave your post! ” The Elder raised her voice at her two uninjured students. Yet it did not stop the concerned Yu from rushing over to her side.
“Shit! Don’t drop the sword!” Tae Kuo and Kevin rushed over as well. But just when they were one or two steps away, a silver flash caught Kevin’s eyes. Alerts blared in his mind. Without much thought he just jumped over using all of his might. While in midair, he thrust his hands forward, right hand in a fist and left hand reaching for Yu’s waist.
Kevin’s fist landed on Yu’s back, not doing any discernible damage at all, while his left hand grabbed the back Yu’s robe. Yu was dragged to the side and almost banged into the table on which Mick was lying. “Clunk”, a short, bright metal object hit the ground and slid across the room. It was a dagger.
Tae Kuo understood what was happening at once, and immediately launched a kick at Yu’s head. Yu raised his right arm before him to block this attack, and ended up with a bloody nose.
Keryn and Gloria came in and suppressed the young man. Kevin picked up the wooden sword dropped by Yu and rushed to his original position. The ball of energy was now covered in cracks, having lost two of the three pillars, its defense was at its weakest, if it were not for the mark left by the Elder, it would have already been completely breached by now.
“The containment’s almost broken!” The last young man standing raised his voice.
Kevin thrust the wooden sword at the original place maintained by Yu. But without proper training, his effort was not enough - the portion of the energy wall around the contact point slightly hardened, but it made no difference at all.
The worm-like creature let out another high pitched screech, several tendrils on its body shot outwards like shrapnels from a grenade. The energy ball containing it was instantly punctured in multiple places. More cracks crawled all over the energy wall. Kevin and the last young man serving the temple lowered their bodies to duck away. Theywere both fortunate enough to not sustain any injuries. Yet, the containment spell was just another burst away from completely falling apart.
“We need help!” Kevin raised his voice: “It’s about to get out!”
Before anyone present could give a response or act, a figure in light gray clothing shot through the door and right at the worm-like creature.
Two palms glowing in flaming red struck at the energy ball, leaving two identical symbols on the glowing, crumbling wall of energy. In a short instant, the cracks began to mend, the wall thickened, and its suppression of the worm-like creature heightened - visibly weakening it and forcing it to roll up into a ball.
“Sword!” The figure was a handsome middle aged man with silvery gray hair. His voice was slightly hoarser than his look would suggest, yet it only made his demeanor more convincing as someone here to save the day. The final standing young man threw his wooden sword at him, as did Kevin. Both swords were steadily caught by both hands. Like using a pen, this middle aged man drew a complex symbol on the ball of energy with one of the swords. By the time he finished, the sword itself crumbled into smoking pieces and splinters. Right after, he jumped up in the air and swung the sword in his left hand at the ball of energy, the wooden blade glowing in red.
“Crack!” The second wooden sword shattered, right before the ball of energy shrunk drastically in size, crushing the creature then exploding, tearing it apart and turning it into hundreds of burning smithereens.
The middle aged man fell back onto the ground, panting and dizzy. After almost a minute, he asked everyone in the room: “Are you okay? Is anyone hurt?”
“We have someone injured.” Kevin raised his hand: “We have one injured by this - this creature.”
The middle aged man grunted, pulled himself off the ground and walked over. Ming, the young man who served the Elder and the one injured by the worm-like creature, was shivering and moaning, his face was pale and almost without the color of blood or flesh.
“We need blessed water and wine.” The middle aged man and the Elder said at the same time.
“I’ll get it.” Tae Kuo stood up: “Where are they stored?”
“I’ll help you.” The last young man who could move stood up, gave Yu a stern, disappointed look before heading out with Tae Kuo.
“Let me go. LET ME GO!” Yu struggled a few times, but with Gloria and Keryn putting all of their body weight on him, and their fingers tightened around his wrists locking his arms behind his back, all he did was just hurt himself.
“You have a lot to explain.” Gloria almost spat on this young man: “Why did you do this? What did the city promise you?”
“I’m not telling you anything!”
“Yu, is it because of your mother?” The Elder sighed.
Yu went silent, then just kept his mouth shut, though still trying to break free.
“Keep trying. Maybe I’ll find a reason to break your fucking arms.” Gloria threatened him with a lowered voice.
“Blessed water and rice wine!” Tae Kuo and the final young man rushed into the sanctum, each carrying two jars in their hands.
The middle aged man grabbed the incense burner from the table at Mick’s head, scooped some incense ash with his right index and middle fingers, then rubbed it on the wounds on Ming’s shoulders and chest.
“Sifu, can you feed him some wine?” The Elder helped the middle aged man to sit Ming up, nodded at Tae Kuo, then pointed at the last young man: “Wupeng, you stand by with the blessed water, when I give the signal, you spray it in the air before him, and on him.”
“Understood, Elder.” Wupeng nodded.
Ming almost choked on the wine pouring down his throat. But as the wine made its way down he regained a bit of his normal skin color.
“The sky and the earth hath no bounds; here I request your aid with your power.” The middle aged man made a hand seal with both his hands, then slammed Ming’s back with his right hand in a palm shape.
Ming’s upper body heaved forward as a stream of black smoke burst through his nostrils and mouth.
“Now!” The Elder raised her voice.
Wupeng swung the two jars in his hands. The blessed water splashed right at the streams of smoke as well as Ming’s face. The black smoke was instantly burned off. The young man coughed and wretched, as dark blood dripped from his mouth and his wounds.
Shout outs to my patrons:
mant06
Jonathan
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